Who are the Somali Bantu?
South Carolina will soon become home to 120 Somali Bantu refugees. The Somali Bantu are now living in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing ethnic persecution in Somalia. Because of centuries of persecution, discrimination, and enslavement, the Somali Bantu cannot return to Somalia with any reasonable expectation of a life of freedom and security. Their only hope for a safe and peaceful existence is to be resettled in another country. The United States has agreed to resettle 8,000-12,000 Somali Bantu refugees in 2003-2004. They began arriving in 2003.
